Energy Success Stories
Win/Win: Energy Success Stories
Surry-Yadkin EMC Helps eTRU Go Electric
Surry-Yadkin EMC in western North Carolina helped an existing NC produce transportation company set up electric transport refrigeration units (eTRU) that use electricity instead of diesel to power refrigeration units on trucks, saving money, reducing emissions, and reducing noise. Read More. [link: https://www.ncelectriccooperatives.com/who-we-are/spotlight/surry-yadkin-emc-partners-with-hollar-greene-produce-on-emissions-reducing-etru-project/] Also see the article in BusinessNC magazine. [link: https://businessnc.com/nc-trend-a-boone-produce-trucker-adjusts-to-clients-demands-for-a-greener-earth/]
Natural Gas + Hydrogen = Washington County, Mississippi
Washington County, Mississippi recently landed the largest economic development by investment type in the history of the Mississippi Delta. Justin Archer Burch, president and CEO of Washington County Economic Alliance, announced in November of 2024 that Entergy Mississippi was breaking ground on a new 705 MW power station that ultimately will help power 385,000 homes across 45 counties in the Mississippi Delta. The new Delta Blued Advanced Power Station in Greenville is a $1.2 billion investment expected to come online in 2028 with hydrogen capture capacity. When fully operational, the plant will provide Mississippi a newer, cleaner, and more attractive power source to highlight when recruiting new industry and jobs to the Mississippi Delta.
“Companies are looking for affordable, reliable and clean power – and today we’re proving that we can meet those needs. The Delta Blues Advanced Power Station is leading a new era of power generation in Mississippi, while using better technology to drive sustainability and keep costs as low as possible for our customers,” said Drew Marsh, Entergy chair and chief executive officer.
The new facility will be equipped with a combined-cycle combustion turbine and dual-fuel technology. While natural gas is the primary resource, it will be designed to support blended hydrogen to produce reliable energy while significantly reducing carbon emissions, the company said.
“We are not just investing in Mississippi’s energy future, we are igniting a transformative opportunity for economic development across the Delta,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson said. “This project represents a commitment to cleaner, more efficient energy solutions, but also represents a commitment to economic development that will create jobs, stimulate local businesses, and uplift our communities. By prioritizing sustainable energy, we are ensuring that our communities thrive and that the benefits of growth are felt by everyone.”
Entergy Mississippi is a subsidiary of New Orleans-based Entergy Corporation, which provides electricity to 3 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Read More. [link to https://www.entergynewsroom.com/news/entergy-mississippi-breaks-ground-on-delta-blues-advanced-power-station/]
The Sun Shines on Virginia Data Center
In Wise County, Southwest Virginia, a new, 65,000-sq.-ft. data center is going up on abandoned mine land. What makes this project different is that the center will be powered by a solar array. The Mineral Gap Data Center, the result of a public/private partnership between DP Facilities, developer Sun Tribe, the Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia, Appalachian Voices, the Wise County Economic Development Office, and other regional stakeholders, is redeveloping about 20 acres of unusable, previously surface coal-mined land into the first commercial scale solar project in Virginia on former surface-mined land.
The solar array at Mineral Gap Data Center, expected to produce 3.6 MWdc, will serve as a launch pad for the development of a cleaner economy throughout the region. According to Brian D. Falin, Wise County Industrial Development Supervisor and the Executive Director of Wise County IDA, “Currently, we have multiple utility-scale solar projects under development in the county which could generate 80-100 MW of power and provide significant tax benefits to the county once complete on property that is currently underutilized.”
Read More. [link to https://suntribesolar.com/case-study/mineral-gap-solar-to-rural-communities/]
Louisiana’s Energy Exceptionalism: Fueling Tomorrow’s Energy Demands Today
Louisiana’s energy leadership, spanning more than a century since the first successful oil drill in Jennings, Louisiana rice fields in 1901, has created an unmatched legacy of expertise. As global energy needs evolve and industries seek locations that can support their future growth, Louisiana’s deep-rooted energy heritage, combined with cutting-edge innovation, positions Louisiana at the forefront of meeting tomorrow’s energy demands.
While often overlooked, Louisiana’s energy story represents one of the bayou state’s greatest examples of exceptionalism – where culture, innovation, and industry intertwine in ways impossible to replicate elsewhere.
Louisiana’s confluence of a generational and diverse workforce, existing infrastructure, favorable geology, and research and development investments present a unique opportunity for the state to lead the world in developing and implementing new energy solutions. With more than $50 billion invested in energy innovation and more than 44,000 miles of pipeline infrastructure, Louisiana's energy capabilities are unmatched. For more than 40 years, the state has maintained its position as a national energy production leader, building a foundation that is now fueling the future.
FUELING INNOVATION THROUGH COLLABORATION
Recognizing both Louisiana’s energy exceptionalism and the global drive toward reduced carbon emissions, leaders across industry, education, business, and community united to form the Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL) with a vision to drive the state’s energy and economic future forward by powering innovation through research, workforce, and technology development. With more than 50 partners, FUEL leans on the impact of collaboration to tackle today's most complicated energy challenges such as: how do we continue to prosper in energy while addressing the demands of a changing landscape?
This collaborative approach has already yielded results, with FUEL securing a historic $160 million grant from the National Science Foundation to position Louisiana as an epicenter of global energy innovation. On top of this federal investment, Louisiana Economic Development (LED) is contributing an additional $67.5 million over the next 10 years, bringing the total investment to more than $220 million. This investment aligns directly with LED’s comprehensive “all of the above” energy strategy – a concurrent focus on both oil and gas interests and emerging energy sources that will ultimately catalyze substantial industry growth.
USE-INSPIRED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
FUEL’s strategic focus on use-inspired research and development is fostering faster and more extensive collaboration across industries, building a portfolio of technologies supporting energy innovation in Louisiana and across the globe. There is a need in the energy space for academic research to be driven by a distinct understanding of the needs of industry. FUEL meets this need by creating a space for real-time, cross-sector collaboration that translates into impact beyond a traditional research project.
This commitment is already setting innovation into motion, with recent investments including more than $408,000 in funding to three projects at Nicholls State University and Louisiana State University, and $174,000 to Xavier University of Louisiana to expand its research capacity and enhance research activities that expand Louisiana energy innovation.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Building a workforce capable of supporting the evolving energy landscape is another strategic focus of FUEL. Louisiana's advantage lies in its generational leadership in energy – the state already has both the talent to meet the economy's needs and the industry partners for a collaborative approach to understanding today's workforce demands. By working in lockstep with its partners across education and industry, FUEL ensures workforce programs directly align with current and future employer needs. This strategic alignment means Louisiana’s workforce continually evolves with the energy industry, maintaining expertise in traditional energy while developing skills for emerging technologies.
TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION
FUEL helps bridge the gap between laboratory innovation and market impact, turning promising research into real-world energy solutions and startups with high growth potential. Through strategic partnerships, FUEL leverages established technology transfer expertise to support innovation at universities that may lack commercialization infrastructure.
Already driving investment and technology commercialization is FUEL’s Proof-of-Concept Fund – which offers grants of $100,000 to $125,000 to help entrepreneurs prove their energy innovations can be commercialized. These grants come with mentoring and technical assistance to help entrepreneurs move their products to market faster. Beyond funding, FUEL creates opportunities for community engagement in technology commercialization, as demonstrated by its recently held Super Pitch event, which brought together over 100 attendees to watch four energy innovators compete for up to $175,000 in funding to fuel their companies' growth.
THE FUTURE OF ENERGY EXCELLENCE
Louisiana's energy story is one of continuous innovation and adaptation. Through FUEL's work in research, workforce development, and technology commercialization, combined with the state's deep energy expertise and infrastructure, Louisiana remains well-positioned to fuel not only the region’s growth, but global energy innovation for generations to come.
Entergy Partners with Meta to Power $10 Billion Artificial Intelligence Data Center in Northeast Louisiana
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta is building a $10 billion artificial intelligence data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana. The new center will support 500 or more direct new jobs, more than 1,000 indirect jobs, and about 5,000 construction workers at peak of construction.
Meta partnered with the utility Entergy to power the data center, which at its largest point extends more than one mile from front to back. Entergy will add clean, efficient power plants to its system to meet growing power demands, including from the data center. Meta has pledged to match its electricity use with 100% clean and renewable energy and will be working with Entergy to bring at least 1,500 MW of new renewable energy to the grid through its Geaux Zero program. In addition, Meta has committed to contribute up to $1 million a year to Entergy’s “The Power to Care” low-income ratepayer support program, a figure that will be matched by Entergy Louisiana. Read More. [link to https://www.entergynewsroom.com/news/meta-selects-northeast-louisiana-as-site-10-billion-data-center/]
Powering Progress: Greylock Midstream Creates New Pathways for Manufacturing
America is built on steel: steel skyscrapers, steel bridges, and steel rails. Manufacturing steel takes energy – a lot of energy. So, when a leading blue-chip metals company needed a reliable natural gas supply for its new multi-billion-dollar steel plant in Northern Kentucky – and with few traditional options available – they turned to energy company Greylock Midstream to deliver a solution.
MEETING THE ENERGY CHALLENGE WITH SPEED AND INNOVATION
The challenge was clear: the company needed direct access to interstate pipeline markets, as the gas demand for their new plant was too large for traditional utility services. Complicating matters further, the project timeline was aggressive – less than seven months to have a fully operational gas system in place.
Greylock Midstream stepped up. “Speed to market was critical,” said Kris Hopkins, Greylock Midstream's Vice President of Business Development. “This wasn’t just about providing energy; it was about delivering a complete solution, fast.”
Greylock took on the full scope of the project, delivering a turn-key gas system that included:
- An 8-mile steel gas transmission pipeline
- A new multi-million-dollar interconnection with the interstate pipeline
- A custom-designed measurement and regulation (M&R) facility on-site
Hopkins explained, “We capitalized, and operate the entire system, which ensures seamless compliance, maintenance, and repairs. It gave the client peace of mind knowing their energy supply was in expert hands.”
RESULTS THAT DRIVE IMPACT
In under seven months, Greylock successfully connected the plant directly to the interstate pipeline, enabling the client to begin operations on schedule. The benefits were immediate – significant cost savings, enhanced efficiency, and a more environmentally friendly energy solution.
"Greylock was aggressive, responsive, and fast," said an executive from the metals company. "Every question we asked was met with a clear, thorough explanation, which gave us confidence every step of the way."
A UNIQUE MODEL FOR TODAY’S ENERGY DEMANDS
Greylock’s unique business model is designed for speed and flexibility. “Where traditional pipelines and utilities often fall short, we move quickly to build bespoke energy solutions for single users,” said Hopkins.
- Compared to Interstate Pipelines: “Interstates tend to focus on large-scale projects that often require a multi-year regulatory process,” Hopkins explained. “We fast-track solutions to meet the needs of individual users in months, not years.”
- Compared to Gas Utilities: Local utility systems rarely have the capacity to serve users of this size. Greylock offers tailored, single-user pipeline models that deliver efficiency and responsiveness.
BUILDING COMMUNITIES, POWERING GROWTH
This success story in Kentucky is more than an energy solution – it’s a story of partnership, innovation, and community growth. By building the infrastructure to power progress, Greylock is helping industries thrive and strengthening communities.
“Every project we take on is about more than just energy,” said Hopkins. “It’s about building the foundation for growth – for businesses, for communities, and for the future.”
To learn more about Greylock Midstream, visit www.greylockmidstream.com.